A Leader's Strength: An Evaluation of Grief
by Thn0715
Summary: The Grief Assessment of Aaron Hotchner. Post Ep for 6x20 "Hanley Waters" and 6x21 "The Stranger".
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Would you look at that! My muse came back! FINALLY! It started this story near the end of season six, then abandoned me. But she's back. Yay! As I said, I've had this in the works since season six. This is a post-ep for both "Hanley Waters" (6x20) and "The Stranger" (6x21). I did tinker with canon just a bit, which you'll see very early on in this story. I do hope you all enjoy it!  
**

**A/N 2: I have to give special thanks to Ahmose Inarus. Participating in a few fun, exciting brainstorming sessions with her helped me find my motivation to get back to writing. It reminded me how much fun I had when I first began this adventure into the land of fanfiction. It feels so good to be back at it. Thank you, my friend. Thank you.  
**

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**A LEADER'S STRENGTH: AN EVALUATION OF GRIEF  
**

**Chapter 1**

Aaron Hotchner sat in his SUV in the parking garage contemplating the ultimatum delivered to him by his Section Chief. The SUV was cranked, heat on low, radio tuned to a classic rock station to which he wasn't paying any attention. He knew the grief assessments for his team in the wake of Prentiss' death were unwelcome but necessary. And he thought the team were all handling the situation as well as could be expected given the circumstances. But according to Strauss, the assessments were incomplete. One was missing. His own.

He needed to speak to someone about his own grief. He knew this. But the ultimatum she was laying down grated on his nerves. He'd speak with someone on his own terms, when he was mentally and emotionally ready. But now he had no choice. According to Chief Strauss, he had one week.

He debated going home, but Jack was with his aunt tonight and it was too late to pick him up. He'd be sound asleep by now. Better to leave him and pick him up in the morning. He contemplated the nearest bar but immediately threw that idea out the window. Absolutely no good would come from trying to drink this away. It wasn't going away any time soon.

Option three was the better alternative. Option three meant he'd be in the company of a good friend. There would be alcohol but not enough to get him into trouble. He could talk if he wanted, but it wouldn't be forced upon him. He could take his time, do this his way, and still be comfortable. Deciding on option three, he put the SUV in reverse, backed out of his parking space, and drove twenty miles in the opposite direction of his home to his best friend's place.

At 11:00 in the evening David Rossi was startled by the unexpected knock at his door. He could only think of one person brave enough to come knocking on his door at such a late hour, but it did not dissuade him from checking the peep hole to be sure.

"Relax Mudg," he called to his barking dog as he opened the door. "It's just Aaron."

"I probably should have called first," Hotch said once the door was opened. "I hope I didn't wake you."

"Nah. I'm never asleep before midnight these days." He stood aside to allow Hotch into his home. "I think he may be a bit miffed at you, though."

Hotch looked to his right to see Mudgie trying to once again get comfortable in his favorite spot on the floor by the couch near the fireplace. "Sorry bud." Mudg simply snorted and flopped on his belly.

Dave took in his friend's appearance. He was still in his suit and tie but he looked tired. Well, more so than usual. Something was weighing down his friend. He could see it in the slump of his shoulders. "Is everything all right?"

Hotch rubbed his hand over his tired face and scratched at the stubble on his jawline. "Strauss was right."

Dave's eyebrows shot up as he stared at his friend in wide-eyed disbelief. "I'm sorry. You want to run that by me again? I thought I heard you say 'Strauss was right'."

Hotch chuckled but still looked somber. "You heard correct."

Dave shook his head. "I think I'm going to need a drink for this conversation."

"Me, too."

While Dave poured two glasses of scotch, Hotch took off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves, and tiredly flopped down onto the sofa. He propped his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands in front of him. He kept his head down, staring at the floor but not really seeing anything except the crest fallen faces of his team during their grief assessments playing over and over again in his mind.

Derek's righteous anger.

Penelope's mournful sadness.

Spencer's utter despair.

Dave's sorrowful understanding.

How would they ever be able to forgive him if, or more likely when, they found out the truth? How would he ever be able to regain their trust?

"Aaron?"

Hotch looked up to see Dave standing over him holding out a glass of scotch. He'd been so lost in thought he hadn't heard him walk up. He took the offered glass.

"Thanks."

Dave sat on the other end of the sofa and eyed his friend warily. "You going to tell me what's going on?"

"The grief assessments," he sighed. "Strauss feels they are incomplete because my own assessment was missing."

Dave nodded knowingly. "This is about that phone call the other night while we were on the case, right?"

"Yeah. I had to meet with her when we got back. Strauss gave me an ultimatum. Talk to someone on my own by Monday or she'll order me to see one of the Bureau shrinks and pull my field credentials until the session is complete and the assessment is evaluated."

"Wow." Rossi took a deep breath and shook his head. Strauss wasn't pulling any punches. He'd half expected for her to make Hotch talk to someone, but threatening to pull his field credentials was a low blow. Low… but effective. "So what are you going to do?"

"We both know talking to a Bureau shrink would be completely unproductive. I'll be uncomfortable. They'll be uncomfortable. I'll throw up my walls, put on my Unit Chief face, tell them what they want to hear and be done with it."

"And Strauss will know that's exactly how it happened," Dave countered. "So that leaves talking to someone on your own."

Hotch nodded. "I'm comfortable talking to you."

Dave sat his glass on the coffee table in front of the couch. "You can always talk to me, Hotch. You know that."

"I know. But this is a little more official than a simple chat. You'll have to do the report, possibly meet with Strauss after she evaluates it. I didn't want to throw that at you without your consent."

Rossi chuckled. "I appreciate that. A little warning before dealing with her is always nice. I'll be glad to do it. Maybe you'll actually tell me the truth and get a few things off your chest instead of bottling everything up like we both know you'd do with a Bureau shrink."

He rubbed his goatee before speaking again. "I can't believe I'm about to say this. And if you ever repeat it I'll deny it to my dying breath. But Strauss was right."

It was Hotch's turn to raise his eyebrows and stare dumbfounded at his friend. Dave continued. "You do need to talk to someone, Aaron. You've let a lot of grief build up over the past two and a half years, all the way back to Kate Joyner's death. It's time you let go of some of it."

"It goes much farther back than Kate Joyner." Hotch stared off toward the fireplace and let his mind wander back through a painful period of not only death, but of loss in general.

His immediate thoughts, of course, went to Haley and Emily; both losses still as fresh and painful as if they happened only yesterday. The pain and guilt he carried still felt as heavy as it had on the days they'd buried them. Maybe one day he would be able to forgive himself for not being able to save Emily. But Haley's death, he would blame himself for that for the rest of his life. He would carry that guilt forever. He thought back a little further, to Kate Joyner and the explosion in New York that eventually took her life, and should have taken his as well. He remembered how hard he'd fought to save her life in the middle of the street in front of Federal Plaza only to fall short.

He was flooded with memories of just how many times he'd come close to death himself: Vincent Perrotta, the mafia hitman, who caught him from behind and wrapped a cord around his neck, cutting off his air supply. Gideon's taser saved him that night. Being locked in a room with Chester Hardwick, trying to lure the convicted killer and death row inmate into a fight knowing full well that Hardwick still had the ability to do to him what he'd done to countless others. Reid had been with him that day. He could have gotten Reid killed. Yet Reid had saved them both by getting into Hardwick's head, making the killer believe there were real psychological reasons for his actions. That was the second time Reid had saved his life, he recalled, as visions of being held hostage in a hospital waiting room by Philip Dowd, the LDSK who'd terrorized Des Plaines, Illinois, cycled through his tired mind.

And of course, there was George Foyet. The memory of that man would haunt him until the day he died: The continual searing pain of his knife. The unquenchable fear of the two loves of his life being in danger. The unbearable emotional agony of hearing Haley's death and not being able to save her. And the sheer panic he'd felt until he was absolutely certain his little boy was physically unharmed. Memories of Foyet caused him to absently caress the scar on his forearm with his thumb.

He also thought of Elle and Gideon. How they'd left the team with no knowledge of the damage they'd done. They had no idea how abandoned and betrayed the team had felt. Especially Reid. He couldn't help but wonder how deeply betrayed they would all feel again if ("_when!_" his mind screamed) they found out the truth about Emily.

"Aaron?"

"Hm?"

"What are you thinking about?"

He sighed and leaned his head back against the couch cushion and closed his eyes, speaking very softly. "I don't know how much more loss this team can take before we all fall apart."

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	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hi again. Just wanted to take a moment and thank everyone who reviewed chapter one. THANK YOU! :D Thanks also to those of you who favorited and alerted, or simply read it. It is much appreciated. Enjoy chapter two!  
**

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**A Leader's Strength: An Evaluation of Grief  
**

**Chapter 2**

Dave nodded but remained silent, closely watching his friend. He knew pushing Aaron to talk was a very bad idea. Pushing would only cause him to shut down. He knew Aaron would talk in time, when he was ready. Getting Aaron Hotchner to talk about anything personal was a delicate process. He just had to be patient. Not necessarily Dave's strong suit, but for Hotch, he could do it.

It took Hotch a few minutes to vocalize his worries. Dave could see him organizing his thoughts in his head while his eyes focused on various points on the ceiling. He could see him compartmentalizing each thought into its own little box, sorting through them all in search of that specific element which was causing the majority of his worry. Finally, after what felt like an agonizingly long time, but was only about five minutes, Hotch began to speak.

"I'm worried about Reid, more so than the others."

"Why is that?" Dave prodded gently, encouraging him to continue.

"I worry about them all, of course. But I know Garcia and JJ will lean on each other and they'll help each other bounce back. Morgan will find a way to channel his anger into something positive. But Reid…" Aaron shook his head. "He said something when we talked that is sticking with me."

"What?"

"He said, 'If we can't protect each other, why are we doing any of this?' I didn't have an answer for him. I still don't."

Hotch took another sip of his scotch, letting the slow burn of the alcohol calm his frayed nerves before taking a deep breath and continuing. "How much do you know about what happened to him five years ago in Georgia?"

Dave shook his head. "Not as much as I should. None of you are very forthcoming about that case. I've read the report but I know there's something very important missing from it." Aaron nodded.

"His kidnapper drugged him with Dilaudid several times over two days. He became addicted and struggled with his addiction for several months. He was still struggling with it when you joined the team. I knew what was going on but I couldn't acknowledge it. Acknowledging it meant I had to report it and I couldn't do that to him. I think Gideon leaving the way he did hindered Reid's progress, but he got help, got clean. He's been clean ever since. But that kid has been through so much, Dave. His life has been one tragedy after another. He's still so young and he's lost so many people close to him. His father, in many ways his mother, Elle, Gideon, and now Emily. I can't help but worry that this could push him to relapse in order to cope."

"I think he's stronger than that. I bet you do, too. I appreciate the fact that you're worried about the team, Aaron, but you're avoiding the subject. We're supposed to be talking about you."

Aaron couldn't help but chuckle. This was exactly why he came to Dave. He knew Dave wouldn't allow him to dodge discussing this. He took another slow sip of his scotch and leaned his head back against the sofa. This was going to be a long night.

"After you retired I spent a lot of late nights talking to Gideon. He was worried about how I would handle you leaving. He knew I was always more comfortable talking to you when the job got tough. One thing I always told him was that you were retired, not dead. I could still talk to you if I needed.

"We spent a lot of time discussing death, especially after the Bureau made me his assistant Unit Chief. We talked a lot about how it feels the first time you lose someone under your command. The guilt we carry at not being able to protect them for whatever reason. He tried to make me understand that I couldn't blame myself because in this job, death is a risk we all take, and we take it knowingly and willingly. We take it freely. We accept it the moment we take the Oath and are handed our credentials and weapons.

"Then Adrian Bale happened, and everything he ever taught me about carrying guilt and grief went right out the window."

He got quiet again, abandoning his spot on the sofa to stand by the window. Dave stayed seated and patiently waited him out.

"Gideon lost six agents all at once. Just like that," he snapped his fingers. "He made a decision and within seconds six young men were dead. Jason insisted on making the notifications to each of their families on his own. He refused to let me or anyone else go with him. And I didn't have much time to process everything properly because within weeks Jason went off the deep end and all of a sudden I was the Unit Chief, and I had to find a way to keep what was left of our unit from falling to pieces."

He finally turned away from to window to face Dave again.

"Did you know that Morgan was supposed to be with him in Boston that day? To this day I can't remember why he stayed behind. I thank God every time I see him step through the doors of the BAU that he wasn't with him. But Derek Morgan scares the hell out of me sometimes. He keeps managing to cheat death over and over. First with Bale, then his arrest on a homicide charge in Chicago, then that ambulance stunt in New York. Foyet could have killed him easily in Boston. Then Doyle. One of these days his luck is going to run out. I don't want to see that happen. I don't want to bury another agent."

He turned back to the window so Dave would not see the turmoil of that statement brewing behind his eyes as he berated himself silently. _You haven't buried an agent yet. You buried a weighted down coffin. Just wait until they find out_.

"You know it's inevitable, right?" Hotch turned his attention to his friend, keeping his face solid, while inside he hoped beyond hope that he hadn't said what he was thinking out loud. "There will never be a Unit Chief that doesn't have to bury an agent," Dave continued. "It's going to happen, as much as we try our damnedest to prevent it. Just like with victims – we can't save them all, Aaron."

"I know that. But sometimes our job sucks."

Dave laughed out loud, shaking his head as a melancholy sadness shrouded his eyes.

Aaron's brow furrowed. "What could possibly be funny right now?"

"Emily said that exact phrase to me after the Anthrax case last year." He huffed a sigh and shook his head. "Damn I miss her."

Aaron's eyes dropped to the floor. "Me, too."

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	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Once again, thank you to all of you who have read/favorited/alerted this story, and especially for reviewing. And to my anonymous reviewers, thank you as well. Here's chapter three!**

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**A Leader's Strength: An Evaluation of Grief  
**

**Chapter 3**

The conversation once again lulled into silence, each man lost in his own memories of Emily Prentiss. The silence stretched for so long that when Hotch spoke again, it caught Dave off guard.

"I don't know if I ever truly earned Emily's trust," Aaron said as he continued to stare out the window, a light drizzle beginning to fall.

Dave looked up, confused. "Why would you say that?"

"When she first joined the team I was not very welcoming. Gideon and I didn't interview her; she was placed on our team by Strauss, so as I'm sure you can imagine, I didn't trust her. I second guessed her a lot. I questioned her motives. A little less than a year after she was placed on the team, Strauss tried to use her against me. She'd been trying to find a way to get rid of me; I guess she thought I was a threat to her position or something. Anyway, she'd planted Prentiss on our team to gather dirt on me, and instead of playing her games, Emily handed in her resignation."

"Really?" Genuine shock registered on Dave's face. He'd never heard this story before.

"Yeah. She'd told me once that she hated politics. I never realized how much until that moment. She wanted to earn her spot on this team on her own merit. She didn't want it because of who her mother was or whatever friends in high places the Prentiss family had. Being in the BAU was what she wanted and she fought for it. And she was willing to give all that up. She earned her place on this team. She earned my complete trust. I don't know if she ever knew that. I should have told her. I can't help but think that if she'd had my trust from the start that maybe she would have come to me about Doyle. Maybe we could have helped her with this, instead of her trying to do everything alone."

"Aaron, you and I both know that she trusted every member of this team. Her actions weren't about trust. They were about protecting her family – _this_ family. Do you honestly think she would have protected us so fiercely if she didn't trust or care about us? She gave her life to protect us, Aaron. People don't do that for just anyone."

"I know." He shook his head. "But I'll always wonder if we could have done more."

Dave left his seat and walked to the window where Hotch still stood. He faced his friend, put a hand on his shoulder and looked his one-time protégé in the eye. "We did everything we could with the information we had. That's all we can ever do."

Hotch nodded. "I know."

"I've told you that before."

"You have."

"You'd think after this many years it would have sunk in by now."

Hotch chuckled, albeit sadly. "That's a lot easier to accept sometimes than others, Dave."

"It is."

"It's going to be a while before I accept this."

"I think that's the case for all of us."

Aaron turned his head away to once again look out the window. Dave could tell by the tension in his shoulders, the lines around his eyes, and the set of his jaw that there was something else on his friend's mind. _Patience_, he reminded himself. _He's coming around to the real problem_. He stood silently and waited him out.

Hotch debated with himself on whether to vocalize the thought that had plagued him since Haley's death. It affected him even more after Emily. It gnawed at him from the inside out, gave him nightmares at night. But if he couldn't say it to his best friend, who could he say it to? After all, that's why he was here.

"I'll never understand how I can be so good at my job, but when Haley and Emily needed me the most, I failed."

"You didn't fail."

"I did fail. Twice." He finally turned his hard eyes back to Dave, his anger at his failures finally revealing itself.

"Haley grew to hate this job. It's what drove us apart. She understood why I needed to do it, but she couldn't live with it anymore. A lot of times she felt that I cared more about other people and their families than I did about our own. And as often as I was gone, I understood her frustrations. But when Foyet happened, she needed me to be the very best at what I do and save her and Jack. She needed me to do the job that I'm so damned passionate about that I put it above everything else in my life and let the best thing I ever had slip away from me. She needed me to be the agent and catch the bad guy, and I failed her. And it cost her her life.

"And Emily. She was acting strange for weeks before she went after Doyle. We're Profilers, Dave. We should have picked up on it. Looking back on it now I see all the signs. But back then I just let it go. I didn't question her, didn't try to make sure everything was okay. I just chalked it up to having a few bad days. We all have them, but hers never go on for that long. I should have said something. At least she would have known I was concerned. Maybe she would have told me what was happening if she'd known that. When she went after Doyle she left us clues. She left breadcrumbs everywhere, but for whatever reason we couldn't see the trail. She needed us to be there, be her back up, and I was too slow to make the call to go after her. If I'd made the call five minutes sooner, we could have gotten to her in time."

"Aaron, this isn't all on you. We're a team. We all failed her."

"I'm the Unit Chief of this team. And every member of this team is my responsibility. It's my job to ensure their safety. Let's take a look at my track record… Elle was shot in her own home after I sent her there without sufficient protection. Gideon went off the deep end. Reid was kidnapped and drugged, then infected with Anthrax. Garcia was shot in front of her apartment building. Morgan was arrested for murder, then nearly blew himself up in New York, nearly killed by Foyet, then was tied up and beaten by Billy Flynn. JJ nearly had her head taken off by a guy with a shovel. And Emily is gone. Right now I don't feel like I'm very good at my job at all."

Dave crossed his arms over his chest. "Aaron, look at me." He didn't continue until he had Hotch's complete attention. "Do you not remember a word you said to Shelly Chamberlain in Sir Burger not even a week ago? You kept your mic open and we were all listening. We all took what you said to heart. You weren't just speaking to her. You were speaking to us. And now I'm going to say something very similar to you because apparently you need to hear it.

"I know you blame yourself and you shouldn't. We all tried to save Emily that day and we all failed. And we're never going to forget it. We'll all ask ourselves what we could have done differently, and in time we'll all heal and find a way to move on, but we will never forget. But this isn't your fault, Aaron. It's Doyle's fault.

"There's a reason you're our leader. It's because you are the best at what you do. It's because you take on the responsibility of caring for this team and you take it very personally when something goes wrong. You take on the weight of the world and stay strong. You're focused, you're determined, and we trust you." Hearing Dave vocalize his trust felt like a sucker punch to the gut, but he kept his features neutral. "You're doing everything you can for this team, Aaron. But you don't have to do everything on your own. That includes grieving. It's okay to let us in from time to time."

"I know. But I'm no better at letting people in than you are."

Dave chuckled. "True. But you've got to admit, it does help from time to time."

Hotch smiled. "Yes it does."

"You know, you don't have to wait for Strauss to hold your job over your head to come to me."

Hotch nodded and smiled. "It's getting late. I should go."

Dave glanced at the clock on the wall. 1 am. "You're more than welcome to stay here. It will take you over half an hour to get home."

"I appreciate the offer, but after bearing my soul for the last two hours I could use some time alone."

"I understand," Dave nodded and walked Hotch to the door. "Call me if you need me."

"I will." He shook Dave's hand. "Thank you. For everything."

"Anytime."

"I'll see you Monday."

Dave watched as Hotch got into his car and drove away, then went into his home office to begin his report on the Grief Assessment of Aaron Hotchner.

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	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hi again! Once again, thank you all for the very kind reviews. I'm glad everyone is enjoying this! Now, it's time to see what Dave has to say in his late night email to Chief Strauss.**

**A/N2: So apparently 's formatting will not allow an email address in a story. The first two lines of this should read "estrauss_bau at fbi dot gov" and "drossi_bau at fbi dot gov", just in case anyone was wondering.  
**

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**A Leader's Strength: An Evaluation of Guilt  
**

**Chapter 4**

**To:** estrauss_bau

**From:** drossi_bau

**RE:** Grief Assessment Report – Aaron Hotchner

Erin,

I will fill out the necessary forms Monday morning. Until then, consider this my official assessment.

-D. Rossi

Grief Assessment Report of Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner, Unit Chief, BAU.

For the first time in his 12+ year career with the FBI, SSA Aaron Hotchner had to bury an agent under his direct command. He is understandably upset as are we all. Losing a teammate is never an easy thing to overcome. And yet, somehow, Agent Hotchner in many ways has come through this tragedy a stronger Unit Chief.

The welfare of his team is of the utmost importance to Agent Hotchner. As their Unit Chief, he feels a great responsibility to all of them. He feels it is his job to ensure their safety and in the case of SSA Emily Prentiss, he was unable to do so. He feels responsible for her death, as any Unit Chief would, though he knows and accepts that her death was not his fault. As a result of Agent Prentiss' death, he is even more protective of his team's physical and emotional well-being than ever. He is determined to make sure his team understands that he is there for them in any way they need.

He is grieving the loss, but he is doing so the only way he knows how – honoring her memory by continuing to do the job that she loved. He has shown his team through his actions that it's possible to grieve and still keep going with the job. He does his job with honor as he always has; only now he does it in honor of one of his agents. He and his team continue to do this job to the best of their abilities, even though all of them are in pain, because it's what Emily Prentiss would want. As any Unit Chief who has ever lost an agent will tell you, he never wants to experience that pain again. He doesn't want his team to experience that pain again. And he will do everything within his power to ensure they do not have to endure more heartache.

And I, for one, am honored to serve as a member of his team. Especially now.

Senior Supervisory Special Agent

David Rossi

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	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Well, we made it to the end. I hope everyone enjoyed my version of events. Thank you all for reading! And special thanks to everyone who reviewed! It is, as always, greatly appreciated!**

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**A Leader's Strength: An Evaluation of Guilt**

**Epilogue**

Early Monday morning a soft knock on her office door alerted Erin Strauss of her expected visitor.

"Come in."

Aaron Hotchner appeared in her doorway. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes, Aaron. Come in. Sit down." He did as she requested.

"I got your Grief Assessment Report from Agent Rossi this morning." Hotch remained silent, though trepidation tried to creep its way up his spine. "I want you to know why I was so adamant that you speak to someone. Your team has been through a great deal in a short amount of time, but you have been through even more. Letting that much grief build up isn't healthy for you or the Bureau. And the Bureau needs you right now. And it needs you as close to 100% as possible. And according to Agent Rossi, you are."

The look of surprise on Hotch's face lasted only long enough for Strauss to catch a slight glimpse. She gave away the briefest of smiles before getting back to business.

"There are some things going on that may require that I be away from the Bureau for a few months. If that's the case, I may need you to help supervise some departments in addition to your work with the BAU. I need to know that you are still on top of your game and are mentally capable of handling the additional workload."

"What's going on?" he asked, slightly confused.

"I'm not at liberty to say yet. Once I'm certain that I'll have to be away, we'll discuss everything. I should know for sure in a few weeks."

"I understand."

He started to get up from his seat to leave when she stopped him.

"Aaron?"

"Ma'am?"

"Contrary to popular belief, I'm not always the cold-hearted bitch everyone thinks I am. I do care about the well-being of my Unit Chiefs and my teams. I'm glad to see that you're all coping with the loss of Agent Prentiss as well as can be expected."

"Thank you. You really didn't have to hold my job over my head, you know," he smirked.

She outright laughed. "I know how stubborn you are, Aaron. Would you have ever spoken to anyone, including Dave, if I hadn't?"

He thought very briefly. "Probably not," he conceded.

"That's what I thought," she said. "If you or your team need anything, please come to me."

"Yes ma'am. Thank you."

She nodded, signifying the end of their conversation. He got up from his seat and walked to the door, then stopped.

"Chief Strauss?"

"Yes?"

"You can come to me too, you know."

She smiled slightly. "Thank you, Aaron."

He nodded and walked out, closing her door. He took the elevator to the sixth floor. Dave was waiting for him when he stepped off, knowing that he'd be meeting with Strauss first thing this morning.

"Everything okay?"

"Everything's fine. Let's get to work."

**~THE END~**

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